The Penn's Grove record., 1887-02-05

remembered her daughters aversion to
the thirty-tirst regiment.
Rhodora, repenting Of her GOODNESS,
accompanied the lieutenant to the
door.
''Ihank you for a delightful even.
ing,n he said heartily.
Rhodora considered this a reflection
upon her manner, but when he said
eagerly; Are you busy, will you be
engaged after tattoo?" she answered
with charming candor: 81 have some
letters to WRITE" But she never touched
pen to paper that night; she sat 10y her
window in the moonlight star gazing,
and when she fell asleep she had ro-
mantle dreams of a cabbage with gold
shoulder straps dancing attendance to
a sick mouse covered with mustard
poultices dipped In catsup.
The next morning, as Miss Rhodora
came down tile hotel steps attired for
her usual morning walk, she nearly a
into Lieut.. Halstead.
"Good morning." he said; 81 was
coming up to ask If you would not go
out for a walk with me, it is such a
beautiful day."
Poor Rhodoral~ Something always
seemed to interfere with her dignity
and make 1t impossible for her to ef'
~fectually snub this fascinating man, for
she confessed to herself that he was
fascinating. and his air just now was a
little determined, as though he had a
perfect right to say she should walk
with him. This manner in any one
else would have annoyed her, but she
was proud of the interest that this
usually Indifferent man manifested in
her, and it was than I'VE pleasing
when she remembered that as first he
had not desired an introduction. She
became generous enough to think he
had some good reason for not wishing
to meet a Detroit girl; yet what could
it bep But she had heard that recently
he had promised willingly to pay the
wager if n of the officers would in
troduce him, but they, enjoying the
joke. had each declined, and when he
thought of asking n of his friends at
the hotel he had CHANGED to hear Miss
Backs remark to Mrs. Mason.
Rhodora meant, now that she knew
him, to be frigid in her manner. She
wished to be v and punish him if
she could. AT present he had taken
her unawares. and she allowed him to
accompany her, but they did not take
the walk along the locks that she had
intended; he led her to the shade of the
woods, and they came back laden with
moses and wild flowers. People are
apt to drop drawing room convention
alities in the freedom of open air inter-
course, and before they returned the
lieutenant had told her that his aver
sion to Detroit girls was an altogether
sympathetic affair, caused by his par
ticulsr friend having been Tilted by one
OF these fair girls, and he had then and
there declared he knew them to be
heartless. He admitted that it was an
unpsrdonably hasty and possibly I'M
Just conclusion. He told her when he
mad first seen her on the steamer deck
with her opera glass up, and she ex-
planned that being nearsighted and not
wearing glasses she always carried an
opera glass when travelling. "If you
had noticed" she said, you would
have cen my glasses were turned wrong
side to that time. | wanted the Sanlt
to look as small and far away as posi-
BILE" and then she explained why she
did not wish to visit the Sault this year.
He regretted her disappointment, but
could not say he was sorry the regiment
changed places.
When the dinner hour came Rhodora
insisted upon her mother proceeding
Immediately to the table. 1t was ride.
ulously unromantic, but after this the
Lieutenant and Rhodora were always on
time to their meals.
Several weeks had passed when one
bright afternoon Miss Black received a
bunch of passionate purple rhodoraS.
and in their midst there lay this little
note:
"AlohaI
"Will you wear these for my sake?
1 found them in the woods. Perhaps
you know this little poem," and below
he had written these few lines from
Emerson's "Rhodora":
Rhodoral ifthe sages ask thee why
This charm is wasted on the earth and
sky,
Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made
for seeing,
Then beauty is its own excuse for be-
ing.
Why thou vert there, o rival of the rose!
l never thought to ask, l never knew;
But, IN my simple ignorance, suppose
The self same power that brought me
there brought YOU.
He had underscored two words-me
and you. She reread the lines, and
then, strange woman, she passionately
kissed the flowers but tore the note into
little shreds and threw it away.
at the dinner table that night she
wore a bunch of purple rhodoras In her
white gown, but Lieut.. Halstea1 could
not get a glimpse Of those wonder III
gray eyes. the eyes that lightened that
smiled, that grew sad, that were n
fathomable, that tonight were con.
tlnually yelled by the dark curling
lashes.
1t was unusually warm inlDetrolt this
summer, and Mr.. Back was anxious to
speedily arrange his business affairs
that he might join his wife and daugh-
ter soon after their arrival at the Sault,
but it was quite nine weeks before he
was able to do so.
They came down to the boat to meet
him, and he was mystided by the anx-
ious manner OF the n and the serious
air of the other.
The morning after Mr.. Blacks arri-
val Lieut.. Halstead might be seen i'm
patiently pacing to and fro in the coy
room that served as the Blacks sitting
room. The door was gently opened
and Miss Rhodora came in fresh and
smiling. her eyes twinkling with sup
pressed Tau liter.
AT last" exclaimed the lieutenant.
his face radiant, as he held out both
hands to meet her.
Miss Rhodora Black was one of the
prettiest brides Detroit ever saw. She
wore a soft tulle gown and carried a
bunch Of purple rhodoras.
The Parsees' Sacred Fire.
Lighting the Parsees' sacred fire is
an expensive and elaborate process on